The Price of Our Reconciliation: The Catholic Theology of the Atonement

Why did Jesus have to die on the cross? What did His death accomplish for us? Many Catholics today have a mistaken notion of what Our Lord intended to do by going to the Cross for our sins. Indeed, it is often confused by the Protestant notion of penal substitution, whereas traditional Catholic theology developed over the centuries to her understanding of Propitiatory Sacrifice, centuries before the advent of the Protestant Heresy.

Once we fully understand why Our Lord went to the Cross, the nature of its purpose and effect, and how that connects to the Catholic Mass, we will never see things the same way ever again. Our entire understanding of who God is, what sin is, and our experience of the Holy Mass will forever be seen in an entirely new light which will transform our souls and unite us all the closer to God as we seek to grow in holiness, honor and adore God, and combat our sins and vices.

The starting principle is to know that it was the Father's Will for Christ to undergo His Passion, as Sacred Scripture explicitly teaches us.

Matthew 16:21 From that time Jesus began to shew to his disciples, that he must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the ancients and scribes and chief priests, and be put to death, and the third day rise again.

John 18:11 Jesus therefore said to Peter: Put up thy sword into the scabbard. The chalice which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?

Luke 17:25 But first he must suffer many things, and be rejected by this generation.

Luke 24:25-26 Then he said to them: O foolish, and slow of heart to believe in all things which the prophets have spoken. Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and so to enter into his glory?

Acts 3:18 But those things which God before had shewed by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled.

Isaiah 53:10-12 And the Lord was pleased to bruise him in infirmity: if he shall lay down his life for sin, he shall see a long-lived seed, and the will of the Lord shall be prosperous in his hand. Because his soul hath laboured, he shall see and be filled: by his knowledge shall this my just servant justify many, and he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I distribute to him very many, and he shall divide the spoils of the strong, because he hath delivered his soul unto death, and was reputed with the wicked: and he hath borne the sins of many, and hath prayed for the transgressors.

As Eucharistic theology developed and reached its apex in the 13th century at the Fourth Lateran Council, wherein the doctrine of the Eucharist became dogmatically defined, so too, the theology of the Atonement developed in the history of the Church, since the two subjects are so interwoven and connected.

One can not separate the doctrine of the Atonement from the theology of the Eucharist and of the Holy Mass. This is because, in Catholic theology, the Mass is truly the one and same Sacrifice as that of Calvary, represented to the Father in an unbloody manner, by means of the miracle of Transubstantiation which takes place when the priest consecrates the bread and wine and it is transformed truly, wholly, and substantially to the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Our Lord Jesus Christ. When this occurs at the Holy Mass, we are truly present at the Cross of Calvary.

We are indebted to the work of St. Anselm in the 11th century, Peter Lombard in the 12th century, as well as that of St. Thomas Aquinas in the 13th century. As the Church sharpened her understanding of the Eucharist, she likewise began to lock in the doctrine of the Atonement with even greater clarity.

Dr. Ludwig Ott, in his masterpiece compilation Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma, makes this important observation: "While the Fathers, in the explanation of Christ’s work of sanctification, proceed more from the contemplation of the consequences of the Redemption, and therefore stress the negative side of the Redemption, namely, the ransoming from the slavery of sin and of the devil, St. Anselm proceeds from the contemplation of the guilt of sin. This, as an insult offered to God, is infinite, and therefore demands an infinite expiation."

While some in Church history had speculated that Jesus had to suffer and die because God owed a ransom to the devil due to Man's sin in Eden, St. Anselm taught, "God owed nothing to the devil but punishment." Thus, Anselm began from the starting point of the nature of sin, which is a personal offense to God and an insult to His honor and glory. Since God is infinite, this means the guilt of sin is likewise infinite, and so, as Anselm reasons, it "therefore demands an infinite expiation."

Focusing on the honor that is owed to God by us, Anselm teaches, "Nothing is less tolerable... than that the creature should take away from the Creator the honor due to him, and not repay what he takes away... God upholds nothing more justly that he does the honor of his own dignity."

Thus, Our Lord's voluntary sacrifice to the Father, "outweighs the number and greatness of all sins, and thus due reparation has been made to God’s offended honor."

In his masterful Summa Theologica, St. Aquinas, "The Angelic Doctor," advanced on this concept from St. Anselm. Beginning with the honor owed to God, and the dishonor that is caused by the guilt of sin, Aquinas spoke of the Cross as an act of appeasing God's wrath and simultaneously preserving His honor. As God is personally offended by the sins of mankind, so the infinite merits of the sacrifice of Our Lord serves to appease Him of this infinite offense due to the guilt of sin.

Aquinas notes, "The passion of Christ is the cause of our reconciliation with God in a two-fold manner: in one way because it takes away sin through which men are made enemies of God... In another way through its being a sacrifice most acceptable unto God, for this is properly the effect of a sacrifice that through it God is appeased, as even man is ready to forgive an injury done unto him by accepting a gift which is offered to him... And so in the same way, what Christ suffered was so great a good that, on account of that good found in human nature, God has been appeased over all the offenses of mankind."

These concepts were also in seed form in the Fathers.

St. Cyril of Jerusalem wrote, "For if a king were to banish one who had given him offence, and then those who belong to them should weave a crown and offer it to him on behalf of those under punishment, would he not grant a remission of their penalties? In the same way, when we offer to Him our supplications for those who have fallen asleep, though they be sinners, weave no crown, but offer up Christ sacrificed for our sins, propitiating our merciful God for them as well as for ourselves."

St. Augustine: "But what is meant by ‘justified in His blood’?... Was it indeed so, that when God the Father was wroth with us, He saw the death of His Son for us, and was appeased towards us? Was then His Son already so far appeased towards us, that He even deigned to die for us; while the Father was still so far wroth, that except His Son died for us, He would not be appeased?"

Oxford Dictionary defines "appease" as: to pacify or placate someone by acceding to their demands; to relieve or satisfy a demand or a feeling.

So God's offense at sin, which is an infinite offense, and which demands a just punishment, is pacified, placated, relieved, and satisfied by the act of sacrifice. The reason for this is because sacrifice is done out of genuine love for the Father and to uphold His honor.

God writes His laws on the heart of man (Romans 1:19-23, Romans 2:14-15). And so man, from his earliest origins, has known to offer sacrifice to Almighty God. We see it as early as Cain and Abel (Genesis 4:2-5), and also Noah (Genesis 8:20-21).

Noah's sacrifice is even said to be a "pleasing aroma" to God, because it came from someone who genuinely loved God and who desired not to offend Him, but rather honor Him for who He is. Consequently, Our Lord's sacrifice is also described as a pleasing aroma in Ephesians 5:2, "And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath delivered himself for us, an oblation and a sacrifice to God for an odour of sweetness."

In Job 1:5, we see Job offers sacrifices for his children just in case they may have sinned and offended God. The reason, we are told, that God accepts these sacrifices is found in Job 1:1, "This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil."

We learn from this that God will not just accept any sacrifice that man offers. He responds to the sacrifices offered by those who demonstrate their love for Him through faith and obedience. He can not accept the sacrifice of someone who is hardened in their sins. As Our Lord teaches in Matthew 5:23-24, "If therefore thou offer thy gift at the altar, and there thou remember that thy brother hath any thing against thee; Leave there thy offering before the altar, and go first to be reconciled to thy brother: and then coming thou shalt offer thy gift."

In fact, in Job 42:7-9, we learn that God is angry with Job's three friends because they all wrongly accused Job of sin. He is so upset that He refuses to deal with them or receive their sacrifices directly. Rather, He tells them to go to Job so that he can sacrifice on their behalf, and He pledges to accept it from Job who will perform it so that God can relent from His wrath towards them. In other words, God will listen to Job because he is an upright man who knows God and loves Him. And if Job offers it on behalf of the friends, God will respond out of love for Job.

Sacrifice for God assumes that we actually care about God and about the offense of sin against Him. Sacred Scripture reveals to us a deeply personal God who is grieved to His Heart over the sins of Man. Genesis 6:5-6 reveals that when God saw that the thoughts and actions of men were nothing but continually evil and wicked, He was excruciatingly grieved in His Heart. This is the most intense and agonizing way one can describe pain and sorrow in the Hebrew language. It is akin to what a spouse feels when their betrothed has an affair with another person, as God exactly describes all throughout the book of Hosea.

The motif of sacrifice is interwoven to intercession in Scripture, and always intrinsically connected to the individual performing the sacrifice, as we see with Job. We also see it in a very particular way with the example of Moses.

In Exodus 32, shortly after having delivered them from slavery in Egypt, and performing numerous plagues against their enemies and miracles to show them that He loved them and was with them, God observes that the Hebrews have now begun building a golden calf to worship as their "god."

God says to Moses, "Go, get thee down: thy people, which thou hast brought out of the land of Egypt, hath sinned. They have quickly strayed from the way which thou didst shew them: and they have made to themselves a molten calf, and have adored it, and sacrificing victims to it, have said: These are thy gods, O Israel, that have brought thee out of the land of Egypt... See that this people is stiffnecked: Let me alone, that my wrath may be kindled against them, and that I may destroy them."

In response to this, Moses pleads with God on their behalf. "Why, O Lord, is thy indignation kindled against thy people... let thy anger cease, and be appeased upon the wickedness of thy people... Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants."

And Exodus 32:14 reveals this fascinating response of God to the pleadings of Moses, which provides a powerful insight into how God responds to the prayers of those who seek to love and obey Him. "And the Lord was appeased from doing the evil which he had spoken against his people."

Deuteronomy 9 further reveals details about what Moses did in order to appease the wrath of God in order for Him to relent of His anger at the grievous offense of dishonoring by spiritual adultery through worship of a false god of gold built by human hands.

Moses says, "Remember, and forget not how then provokedst the Lord thy God to wrath in the wilderness. From the day that thou camest out of Egypt unto this place, thou hast always strove against the Lord. For in Horeb also thou didst provoke him, and he was angry, and would have destroyed thee, When I went up into the mount to receive the tables of stone, the tables of the covenant which the Lord made with you: and I continued in the mount forty days and nights, neither eating bread, nor drinking water... I fell down before the Lord se before, forty days and nights neither eating bread, nor drinking water, for all your sins, which you had committed against the Lord, and had provoked him to wrath: For I feared his indignation and anger, wherewith being moved against you, he would have destroyed you. And the Lord heard me this time also."

We discover that Moses laid prostrate on the ground for forty days and nights, and fasted from everything including bread and water, "for all your sins," and that "the Lord heard me."

The reason why God would listen to Moses on behalf of the people and relent of His wrath against their sins is because we learn in Numbers 12:3, "For Moses was a man exceeding meek above all men that dwelt upon earth." He was the meekest man on the face of the earth, and thus his prayers and sacrifices carried much weight with Almighty God. So much so that God was willing to not destroy the people for the sin of worshipping a false man made god.

We can only imagine how such an action from the Hebrews would have grieved God's Heart. He had sent plagues to the Egyptians, delivered them from bondage, performed miracles (including the parting of the Red Sea) to protect them, guided them as a pillar of fire, sent them manna in the desert to provide for their hunger. And in response to this, they chose to take gold and fashion of a calf that they then worshipped. God had every right to punish them for this agonizing sin, and yet He relented because of the pleadings and sacrifices of Moses on their behalf.

Another example of appeasement and preserving God's honor is found by the example of the holy Phinehas, where is says in Numbers 25:11, "Phinees the son of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, hath turned away my wrath from the children of Israel: because he was moved with my zeal against them, that I myself might not destroy the children of Israel in my zeal."

It is fascinating. Our sins directly and personally offend God and cause Him pain. And also, our prayers and sacrifices directly move Him and have an impact on His decisions. He is a very personal God who is affected by us and wants us to truly know Him for who He is.

The quandary that man is in is that his attempts at sacrifice will always be temporary and partial in their attempted effect. They will fall short, simply because man innately remains a fallen creature that is prone to sin. So even though God accepts the sacrifices of Job for his three friends, Job's sacrifices will not suffice for the sins of all humanity throughout history. Because even Job is personally imperfect. The same applies to Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, etc. Their offerings will carry partial effects, but they will not suffice to propitiate God for the offense of the sins of the world throughout time, nor will they accomplish the means of man being able to enter back into the gracious relationship with God that was lost due to the sin of Adam in the Garden of Eden.

This then brings us to Our Lord Jesus Christ, who enters into human history as "the Word made flesh" and "God with us." While truly God the Son (John 1:1-18), He is also true Man (Philippians 2:5-11).

In order for Man to have an inroad back to the heart of the Father, a sacrifice of infinite value was needed on behalf of man, and yet had to come from a true representative of man since it was Adam who ushered in Original Sin in Genesis 3, and as St. Paul teaches in Romans 5:12, "Wherefore as by one man sin entered into this world, and by sin death; and so death passed upon all men, in whom all have sinned."

A sacrifice was needed in order to uphold God's honor and justice, since He can not just excuse man's sin as this would contradict His justice. It was also needed to propitiate His anger over the offense of sin, so that He could be placated in order to then consider man's contrite repentance and reenter into a gracious relationship with Him.

Romans 3:23-26 teaches, "For all have sinned, and do need the glory of God. Being justified freely by his grace, through the redemption, that is in Christ Jesus, Whom God hath proposed to be a propitiation, through faith in his blood, to the shewing of his justice, for the remission of former sins, Through the forbearance of God, for the shewing of his justice in this time; that he himself may be just, and the justifier of him, who is of the faith of Jesus Christ."

A representative of Man had to offer God the sacrifice, since it was Man who had sinned against God. And yet, for it to be a perfect sacrifice of infinite and eternal value, it had to come from a perfect Man. Jesus Christ is true God and true Man. Thus, His sacrifice serves to propitiate the Father in Heaven from the sins of the world.

1 John 2:1-2 We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the just: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.

1 Timothy 2:5-6 For there is one God, and one mediator of God and men, the man Christ Jesus: Who gave himself a redemption for all, a testimony in due times.

Oxford Dictionary defines propitiate as: To win or regain the favor by doing something that is pleasing. Cambridge Dictionary defines it as to please and make calm one who is offended.

Aquinas notes: "Christ's Passion is in two ways the cause of our reconciliation to God. In the first way, inasmuch as it takes away sin by which men became God's enemies... In another way, inasmuch as it is a most acceptable sacrifice to God. Now it is the proper effect of sacrifice to appease God: just as man likewise overlooks an offense committed against him on account of some pleasing act of homage shown him... And in like fashion Christ's voluntary suffering was such a good act that, because of its being found in human nature, God was appeased for every offense of the human race with regard to those who are made one with the crucified Christ in the aforesaid manner."

The two points he draws out are that God must be appeased, and then once appeased, He infuses His grace into our souls in order to cleanse us from sin. As we see in Hebrews 9:22, "Without shedding of blood there is no remission."

Peter Lombard, in his 12th century book Sentences, writes, "This is the price of our reconciliation which Christ offered to the Father so that he may be appeased."

Contrary to this, the Protestant heretics advanced the concept of penal substitution, namely that Christ paid the full legal penalty for the sins of the world in our place as a substitute. However, for this to be the case, Our Lord would have had to suffer in Hell for all eternity, since physical death was only the temporal punishment for sin, while damnation was the eternal consequence.

As we have seen already, Sacred Scripture, in contrast to this, teaches that Jesus' death on the cross was an offering, a sacrifice, and a propitiation.

Hebrews 9:28 Christ was offered once to exhaust the sins of many.

Hebrews 10:12 But this man offering one sacrifice for sins, for ever sitteth on the right hand of God.

1 Corinthians 5:7 For Christ our pasch is sacrificed.

1 John 4:10 In this is charity: not as though we had loved God, but because he hath first loved us, and sent his Son to be a propitiation for our sins.

Notice even in these passages, Our Lord's death is an offering, a sacrifice, a propitiation. Not a legal payment for sin. Our Lord went to the Cross to appease the Father's wrath against sin, and in return, He opens up a path for us to turn to the Father with contrite and penitant hearts so that we might seek forgiveness. In being absolved of our sins, God infuses sanctifying grace into our souls so that we might be holy and enjoy a gracious relationship with Him.

Here is an analogy to help understand how the Atonement works.

Brad has always been good to Jesse. Anything Jesse has ever needed, Brad has gone above and beyond, and has always been there for Jesse. Brad has a very special love for Jesse and lavishes only goodness to him.

But one day, Jesse decides to burn Brad's house down. Jesse also attacks and murders his loved ones, and he steals from Brad. Jesse then goes throughout the neighborhood and spreads false rumors and vicious lies about Brad.

Brad is devastated by this. Brad only ever loved Jesse and always did good for him. And now Jesse has just completely devastated this relationship in a way that can not be mended. Because of Jesse, Brad has just lost everything he cared about. His house, his loved ones, his reputation, all gone. Brad is experiencing sorrow, hurt, and anger all at once for these acts.

Some time passes, and Jesse realizes what he has done. Jesse is deeply sorry, and he knows he can not just walk up to Brad and say, "Hey, bygones be bygones; here, I baked you a cake. Friends again, old pal?" This would be insulting to Brad. What can Jesse do? Jesse is ashamed to even hope to ask for forgiveness, much less a friendship. Jesse does not know what he can do to ever begin to repair the damage he has caused to Brad.

Enter in Rob. Who is Rob? Rob is in a unique position. Not only is Rob good friends with Jesse, but he is also very good friends with Brad, too. In fact, Rob and Brad have their own unique friendship. Rob has always done good to Brad and has always been there for him. Rob truly cares about Brad's honor and seeks to only please him as a friend. Anything Brad has ever asked for, Rob has never failed him. And Rob has never once asked for anything in return.

Jesse knows this, and he knows he can not just approach Brad on his own. So, tearfully, Jesse goes to Rob. He says, "Rob, you have a connection to Brad. I have done horrible things, unforgivable things to Brad, which I never should have done. I only want Brad to know how sorry I am, but I am ashamed to even attempt to speak with him. Since you and I are friends, can you Rob go on my behalf to Brad and at least just let him know how truly sorry I am for what I did? I know Brad will not listen to me, but he will for sure listen to you Rob."

Since Rob also cares for Jesse, with true empathy and compassion, he says, "Yes, Jesse. I will speak to Brad for you, to let him know you are sorry, and to see if there is any possibility at all of Brad receiving you so you can let him know how sorry you truly are."

Rob goes to Brad and says, "Brad, you know our relationship. I have only ever sought to put you first and have never asked for anything in return, not even once. I am now only seeking one thing. Jesse is truly contrite and sorry for everything he did. He is ashamed by his actions. On his behalf, I am asking, pleading, if you can find it anywhere in your heart to at least let Jesse tell you himself how sorry he is. I am hoping you will consider this, because I am the one who is requesting it, and you know how much I love you."

Because it is Rob asking, Brad says, "Alright. For you, Rob. I will consider letting Jesse tell me himself how sorry he is."

Now, this analogy itself falls short and is not perfect. However, this gives an idea of how appeasement and propitiation works. Brad is the Father, Jesse is Man, and Rob is Our Lord in this analogy. And what did Christ say at the Cross?

Luke 23:34 Father, forgive them.

Even though Adam, and by extension all his children, had sinned, and continued to sin, grievously against the Father, which effectively dishonored Him and also caused Him excruciating and agonizing pain, Our Lord by contrast says in John 6:38, "I came down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him that sent me." Jesus' entire life is pleasing, perfect, and sinless before the Father. And so the Father will hear His plea, and as He did in the examples of Job, Noah, Moses, Phinehas, and more, He will listen. And this time, all the more so, because it is Jesus who is performing the offering to Him to appease His wrath and to honor Him.

The Council of Trent dogmatically declared: In this divine sacrifice which is celebrated in the Mass, the same Christ Who offered Himself once in a bloody manner on the altar of the cross is contained and is offered in an unbloody manner. Therefore, the holy Council teaches that this sacrifice is truly propitiatory, so that, if we draw near to God with an upright heart and true faith, with fear and reverence, with sorrow and repentance, through it ‘we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.’ For the Lord, appeased by this oblation, grants grace and the gift of repentance, and He pardons wrong-doings and sins, even grave ones."

Notice Trent's emphasis on propitiation and appeasement.

The Trent Catechism further notes: "That the Church might have a perpetual sacrifice, by which our sins might be expiated, and our Heavenly Father, oftentimes grievously offended by our crimes, might be turned away from wrath to mercy, from the severity of just chastisement to clemency."

Dr. Ludwig Ott, in his Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma, writes, "By atonement in general is understood the satisfaction of a demand. In the narrower sense it is taken to mean the reparation of an insult. This occurs through a voluntary performance which outweighs the injustice done...Thus Christ’s atonement was, through its intrinsic value, sufficient to counterbalance the infinite insult offered to God, which is inherent in sin."

The Catholic Encyclopedia, 1911 edition, teaches: "Redemption has reference to both God and man. On God’s part, it is the acceptation of satisfactory amends whereby the Divine honor is repaired and the Divine wrath appeased... The judicial axiom ‘honor est in honorante, injuria in injuriato’ (honor is measured by the dignity of him who receives it) shows that mortal sin bears in a way an infinite malice and that nothing short of a person possessing infinite worth is capable of making full amends for it... ‘For an adequate satisfaction,’ says St. Thomas, ‘it is necessary that the act of him who satisfies should possess an infinite value and proceed from one who is both God and Man’."

Pope Pius XII, in the encyclical Mystici Corporis, writes, "That He completed His work on the gibbet of the cross is the unanimous teaching of the holy Fathers...through His triumph on the cross... He won power and dominion over the Gentiles... by His blood shed on the cross God’s anger was averted and all the Heavenly gifts... could then flow from the fountains of our Savior for the salvation of men."

You can see how a mistaken notion about the Atonement will then lead to further errors in one's theology. As with the case with Luther, he rejected the Catholic Mass, not to mention the doctrines of the Eucharist, reparation, works done under grace, indulgences, prayers for the dead, purgatory, mortal sin, infused righteousness, sanctifying grace the Sacraments, etc. They all fell like dominoes, because of his errors pertaining to the Atonement. Consequently, today, we hear foolish questions from Protestants such as, "If Christ paid it all on the cross, why should I have to go Purgatory?" The issue is that such an argument is raised because of a faulty and heretical notion pertaining to the Atonement.

Hebrews 9:23-24 teaches us the Scriptural foundation for the Catholic Mass: "It is necessary therefore that the patterns of heavenly things should be cleansed with these: but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Jesus is not entered into the holies made with hands, the patterns of the true: but into heaven itself, that he may appear now in the presence of God for us."

The reason why the term "sacrifices" appears in the plural in verse 23 is because, even though Christ's sacrifice was done once and for all, and never needs to be physically repeated since it is eternal and infinite, it is represented to the Father in an unbloody manner at every single Catholic Mass. Our Lord appears "now in the presence of God for us." The reason the Father needs to see this oblation again and again is because man continues to commit sin. And insofar as man sins, the Sacrifice of Calvary, which is one and the same with the Sacrifice of the Mass, is offered to appease the Father for those sins.

This is truly what happens at every single Mass, every single day. Our Lord represents the work of the Cross to the Father in Heaven on our behalf. And in turn, the Father is appeased, and grace is offered to us to grow in holiness. This is why St. Pio said, "The world would exist more easily without the sun than without the Mass." This is why Catholic theology has always maintained that the Mass is primarily for the Father in Heaven. Everything is aimed towards Him, and this is why the priest stands ad orientem in the Tridentine Mass.

May this article assist you in a deeper relationship with Almighty God. He is truly a personal God. He is personally offended by sin, and He is personally moved by our genuine and sincere contrition. He desires an intimate relationship with each one of us. And may you be moved to approach the Mass with more reverence and solemnity, knowing that it is truly Calvary that you are approaching every single time.